Single Storey Extension - Party Wall Insurance Required??

[tododo]

Hi all

We are nearly about to start our single storey extension in a few weeks

Ive given party wall notice to the next door neighbor and waiting to hear back for that - I hope he agrees to it - he hasn't raised any objections at all in the past and keeps saying to get on with it

Anyway Ive been trying to sort out general house insurance which is a bit of a pain at the moment finding someone to insure with while works are going ahead

Another thing Ive come across is party wall insurance - just in case we cause any damage to the next door neighbors property??

Is this needed do you think does anybody know of any good suppliers to try?

Thanks all - its a bit of hell once you start googling this stuff

 

[^woody^]

Fire and theft or fully comp.

As any potential claim will come as a general negligence tort, and can be six years after discovery, would any of this nonsense party wall insurance cover actually be in existence at such a time in the future?

Or would normal household insurance cover such risk, I wonder? (It's rhetorical).

 

[wessex101]

It depends what you are trying to cover against.

Most standard household buildings insurance policies include third party liability cover which should take care of any long term consequences (assuming any damage is not caused by negligence etc.) but is unlikely to cover the actual building work. For that the builder will need public liability insurance or you will need some kind of self build insurance policy.

I have not heard of a special party wall insurance policy and cannot see what it would cover over and above the usual insurances you need for any building work or house. There have been a few cases where work that would have been covered by the Party Wall Act has caused the collapse of the adjoining property which should have been covered by the builder's public liability insurance and at least 1 where the builder's policy was cancelled so the homeowner was liable for the very substantial cost of destroying not only their neighbours flat but also their own.

For a single storey extension all you've really got to worry about is not undermining the neighbour's foundations whilst you are digging out yours. Depending on the depth of foundations and distance from neighbouring property a bit of time spent working on a method statement to avoid undermining would be better spent than taking out a special insurance policy.

 

[tododo]

Thanks for the input guys - much appreciated - it really is a mare once you start thinking about things and stuff - will just get normal house insurance then - been looking at coverbuilder for that and it looks like they cover for when works are being carried out at least